Timeform’s guide to racing at Leopardstown and the Curragh, featuring the key facts and figures ahead of Irish Champions Weekend.
Timeform's Leopardstown course guide
Leopardstown is a wide, left-handed oval track of around a mile and three quarters in extent. The course is fairly level except for a slight rise from the last bend and the turns are easy. It is essentially galloping in character and there is little evidence of a draw bias.
Leading active jockeys at Leopardstown
Sorted by strike rate since the start of 2017 (minimum 25 rides)
- Ryan Moore 29.57% (34-115)
- Shane Crosse 18.66 (29-166)
- Dylan Browne McMonagle 17.11% (13-76)
- Colin Keane 13.76% (60-436)
- Mikey Sheehy 13.56% (8-59)
Other points to consider
- Colin Keane's tally of 60 winners is comfortably the highest. Shane Foley, whose 44 winners have come at a strike-rate of 11.28%, is next on the list.
- Chris Hayes, whose 29 winners have comes at a strike rate of 8.43%, has a remarkable level-stake profit of £170.49, though is less impressive when you consider that includes 300/1 winner He Knows No Fear. Dylan Browne McMonagle has posted a level-stake profit of £63.20 and doesn't have a big outlier among his winners, with his biggest winning SP being 22/1.
- Danny Tudhope has had only 11 rides at Leopardstown in the period in question but has had three winners at a strike rate of 27.27%, while another four hit the frame. He has posted a level-stake profit of £9.83.
Leading active trainers at Leopardstown
Sorted by strike rate since the start of 2017 (minimum 25 runners)
- Paddy Twomey 22.86% (8-35)
- Aidan O'Brien 17.98% (103-573)
- Dermot Weld 16.9% (49-290)
- Ger Lyons 15.25% (52-341)
- Willie Mullins 13.95% (6-43)
Other points to consider
- Aidan O'Brien, unsurprisingly, has had by far the most winners at Leopardstown in the period in question, sending out 103. His son Joseph, whose 63 winners have come at a strike rate of 13.61%, is next on the list.
- Backing all of Willie Mullins' runners on the Flat at Leopardstown since the start of 2017 would have returned a small level-stake profit. His six winners from 43 runners returned a level-stake profit of £6.22.
Timeform's Curragh course guide
The Curragh is a horseshoe shaped, right-handed course with no sharp bends over two miles with a straight run-in of three furlongs slightly uphill. There are starts at five furlongs, six furlongs, six furlongs 63 yards, seven furlongs and a mile on a straight course. A high draw provides a slight advantage on the straight course in big fields, though in any given instance pace and positional bias usually counts for more.
Leading active jockeys at the Curragh
Sorted by strike rate since the start of 2017 (minimum 25 rides)
- Ryan Moore 27.65% (81-293)
- Jamie Powell 13.95% (6-43)
- Colin Keane 13.84% (80-578)
- Shane Foley 10.67% (54-506)
- Billy Lee 10.54% (47-446)
Other points to consider
- As well as having the best strike rate, Ryan Moore has also ridden the most winners at the Curragh since the start of 2017, with his tally of 81 just edging out Colin Keane's total of 80.
- William Buick has had only 23 rides at the Curragh since the start of 2017, so doesn't meet the qualifying criteria, but he has had eight winners and is operating at an excellent strike rate of 34.78%.
- Billy Lee shows a level-stake profit of £50.53, though that does include a 150/1 winner. William Buick has a level-stake profit of £9.60 despite his biggest-price winner being only 7/1.
Leading active trainers at the Curragh
Sorted by strike rate since the start of 2017 (minimum 25 runners)
- Paddy Twomey 26.67% (16-60)
- Aidan O'Brien 18.23% (165-905)
- Aidan Howard 14.29% (10-70)
- Ger Lyons 12.25% (50-408)
- Sarah Dawson 12% (3-25)
Other points to consider
- Aidan O'Brien's tally of 165 winners is more than double the next best. His son Joseph, who is second on the list, has had 78 winners from 658 runners at a strike rate of 11.85%.
- You would have made a small level-stake profit backing Paddy Twomey's representatives. His 16 winners from 60 runners has resulted in a level-stake profit of £9.78.
- Eddie Lynam's 13 winners from 121 runners have resulted in a level-stake profit of £53.25. He would still be showing a small profit without the 50/1 shot among those winners.
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